Privacy and support

To play your shows, Hey News reads each show's feed and plays its episodes from wherever the feed points, usually the publisher or its podcast host, the same way any podcast app does. Hey News checks the feeds when you open the app, when you ask it to play and now and then in the background when the system allows it. The publisher or host sees those requests the way they see any podcast app's.

When you search for a show, the words you type and your region go to Apple's podcast directory, which sends back matching shows. A show you add from search uses the artwork Apple has for it, loaded from Apple. When you paste a feed link, Hey News reads that link and uses the artwork the feed names.

If you tap to add the Play the News shortcut, it opens from Apple's iCloud.

The Mac app downloaded from this site can check for a newer version. It asks this site for one small file with the latest version number when you choose Check for Updates, or once a day if you turn that on. Like any web request, it carries your internet address and the app and macOS versions, and nothing else about you. It never downloads or installs anything by itself.

Hey News remembers your shows and their order, whether each one holds an unfinished episode, each show's newest episode, where you are in each episode, your playback speed and your list settings. It also keeps a record of what you've listened to, how far you got and what you skipped, so a future version can suggest shows. All of it stays on that iPhone, iPad or Mac, and none of it leaves, not even for your other devices.

Deleting the app from an iPhone or iPad removes all of it. On a Mac, macOS keeps the data in your Library folder after the app goes in the Trash. The Play the News shortcut, if you added it, stays in the Shortcuts app until you delete it there.

Hey News asks for Siri so that "Hey Siri, play the news" works. Siri hears what you say and hands Hey News the request. How Siri handles your voice is Apple's system and your settings, and Hey News adds nothing to it.

Siri is the only one. Hey News doesn't ask for your photos, contacts, location, camera or microphone, and it doesn't track you across apps.

If you've chosen to share analytics with app developers in your device's settings, Apple may pass me anonymous crash reports. That is Apple's system and your choice. Hey News adds nothing to it.

This site counts visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics, so I can see how many people stop by and how they found it. It uses no cookies and collects nothing that identifies you.

In Hey News, tap the Shows button at the top right of the player, then the More button (the three dots) and Add Shows. Search for a show by name and tap the plus beside it.

A show that isn't in Apple's podcast directory, like a private feed that comes with a paid subscription, goes in by its feed link. On the same screen, tap Add a Show by URL and paste the link.

Hey News plays your shows from the top of the list down, starting at the top every time you ask. On the Shows page, touch and hold a show and drag it where you want it.

If a show won't move, open the More menu and turn off Hide Played. Dragging only works when every show is in the list.

Some episodes run longer than your dinner. Turn on Hold Unfinished Episode for a show and Hey News keeps your place in an episode you started, even days later. The next time you play the news, it says "resuming unfinished episode," plays that one from where you stopped, then plays the show's newest episode.

Tap a show on the Shows page to find the setting. With it off, a show keeps your place for the rest of the day and starts fresh the next day or when a new episode comes out.

The first time you open Hey News, it offers the Play the News shortcut. Add it, then say "Hey Siri, play the news." If you tapped Not Now, or Siri plays something else, add the Play the News shortcut on your iPhone from here. Saying "Hey Siri, play the news in Hey News" also works without it.

If Siri plays the wrong thing, a show won't play or this page doesn't answer your question, write to heynews@rexchekal.com. It reaches me, Rex Chekal, the person who made Hey News.

For a show that won't play, it helps to send its name or the feed link.